Notes from the Nest: Cardinals vs. Giants

By Adam Green | October 2, 2011 at 7:01 pmUPDATED: October 2, 2011 at 11:27 pm

:51 left in fourth quarter

Kolb throws incomplete trying to force the ball to Fitz, that will do it. A
collapse the likes of which has not been seen since, well, a while. Cardinals
will lose 31-27 and be kicking themselves.

2:35 left in fourth quarter

Cardinals will begin the drive on their own 24, down four and needing a
win in the worst way. A loss in this one would be huge. Does Kolb have it
in him? I fear he doesn’t.

2:51 left in fourth quarter

No fumble, ref’s explanation does nothing for me. Confused. Manning hits
Hakeem Nicks for the long TD and suddenly the Giants take the lead.
Disaster.

3:10 left in fourth quarter

Cardinals pass twice after the Wells run, forced to punt. Awful playcalling,
reminiscent of the disaster in D.C. Giants take the short punt and complete
a pass, looks like there may be a fumble on the play. At the very least there
is a ton of confusion. Cards may catch a break here.

3:32 left in fourth quarter

Wells runs for three and the Giants call a timeout. Does the offense have it
in them to finish the game on the field? Need some first downs.

3:37 left in fourth quarter

Well that stop didn’t happen. Giants march down the field and score on a
two-yard Manning TD toss, bringing the game to 27-14 with a decent
amount of time left. Cardinals will need to eat up some clock, don’t want to
see New York get the ball again. #canttrustthisdefense

5:16 left in fourth quarter

Beanie Wells gets TD number three, a two-yard run where nobody wearing
blue touched him. Career day for the guy. Cardinals lead 27-17 and are
basically one stop away from ending this one. I think.

5:20 left in fourth quarter

Have I mentioned how good Beanie Wells has been today? He’s running
mean against the Giants and a big run of his puts the Cardinals in position
to score. Alfonso Smith came in for a couple carries, was tackled at the 2
but the Cards felt the need to waste a challenge on the play.

Wells has over 100 yards for the second time in his career, and he’s not
done yet. Maybe a third TD run of the day coming up here?

8:25 left in fourth quarter

Defense forces a huge three and out, gets the offense the ball back with
the lead still in tact. Move the ball, keep the ball.

10:48 left in fourth quarter

Cards take to the air and Kolb is picked off by Antrel Rolle. To sum up Kolb
today, the word I’d use is “terrible.” Playing very poorly, and it’s a shame
because the running game and defense are there. Giants take over at their
own 42 down by three.

12:07 left in fourth quarter

Giants drive finishes with a Jacobs touchdown run from one yard out.
Cardinals still lead 20-17 but this game is far from over. Offense needs to
prove it can move the chains, something it really hasn’t done today. Beanie
Wells, who has 80 yards on the day, will finish with at least 100 if the
Cardinals win. Book it.

End of third quarter

Giants driving but Cardinals head into the final period up 20-10. Defense is
playing reasonably well, offense has done just enough — so far. Kind of
feels like the offense will have to score some more points in this one.

2:55 left in third quarter

Campbell sacks Manning, Manning fumbles ball, Dockett recovers. Two
straight handoffs to Beanie result in another TD for the Cardinals and the
PAT gives Arizona a 20-10 lead. Defense playing big today.

3:42 left in third quarter

Comedy of errors leads to a Cardinals punt. Among the issues were a false
start on Kolb and intentional grounding. Offense looks bad when the ball
isn’t in Beanie’s hands. Concerning.

7:24 left in third quarter

Cards defense holds as the Giants O-line holds. Dockett playing like an
animal, pretty much having his way up front. Cards receive the punt, nice
return by PP21 is aided by some holds. Arizona starts drive at own 17, see
if they have some momentum here. Beanie, anyone?

10:24 left in third quarter

Cardinals drive down the field and score on a one-yard Beanie Wells run.
Nice job by the running back, looks healthy. Kolb, on the other hand, still
not particularly sharp. Threw a bomb to Fitz that, quite frankly, would have
been an interception had it not been for No. 11’s greatness. Also just not
seeing open receivers. 13-10 Cards lead, but a personal foul after the TD
run leaves Arizona kicking off and the Giants with a good chance at great
field position.

14:55 left in third quarter

A.J. Jefferson with a nice return on the opening kickoff, but a delay of game
penalty pushes the Cardinals back a bit. Offensively, Arizona stunk in the
first half. Sans Beanie Wells they got nothing going but are still in this
game.

Halftime

Giants drove down and kicked a field goal to take a 10-6 lead, but may
have lost their kicker in the process. Patrick Peterson, who was offsides on
the FG, also was penalized for roughing the kicker as he just crushed
Lawrence Tynes on the play.

Arizona heads into the half down 10-6 and, to be honest, I wouldn’t feel
good if I’m a Cards fan.

1:08 left in 2nd quarter

Cardinals force a three and out and this game is, well, still up for grabs.
Arizona starts drive from their own 20 after punt.

1:49 left in 2nd quarter

Well, so much for that. Cardinals go three and out, Kolb looks bad and
takes a sack in the series. If you can even call what that was a “series.”
Giants get the ball at midfield and have a chance to really take control of
this game.

2:48 left in 2nd quarter

Giants put together an impressive drive that ends with a 13-yard TD run by
Bradshaw. Helps my fantasy team but not the Cardinals. Arizona has
dominated this half but now finds itself trailing in the game. Have some
time to mount a drive, do so and have momentum going into the
intermission.

7:57 left in 2nd quarter

Cardinals move the ball well, even picking up a fourth-and-one along the
way. Some nice plays, but overall nothing special. Still, drive ends in a field
goal and the Cardinals lead 6-0. Kind of feels like they should be up more
— like they need to be up more.

End of 1st quarter

Cardinals moving the ball some, Beanie looking strong. Team needs him to
play well to have a chance, and so far the Red Birds are out-physicaling
their opponents. Nice to see.

2:17 left in first quarter

Giants move the ball a little but ultimately have to punt. Arizona will start
at their own 12 yard line, needing a few first downs to help the field
position game. Offense, where art thou?

7:56 left in first quarter

Kevin Kolb scrambles, is hit, and fumbles the ball. He has fumbled at least
once in each of the team’s four games. That can’t happen yet continues to
do so. Cardinals lose out on a chance for at least three more points and
momentum returns to New York’s sideline.

11:34 left in first quarter

Another three and out for the Giants, Cardinals defense still playing strong.
Getting to Manning, stuffing the run…who are these guys?

13:02 left in first quarter

Beanie runs for -1, a short pass to Fitz and a throw away by Kolb equals a
three and out for the Cards. Jay Feely hits a 27-yard field goal to give
Arizona the early lead, but you’d like to see them punch it in after the
turnover. Can’t afford to not capitalize on opportunities like that against
the Giants.

14:37 left in first quarter

Cardinals D comes out ready, forces a fumble and recovers at the Giants
16. Ahmad Bradshaw coughed it up, Rhodes forced it. Good start for the
Cardinals, bad sequence for my fantasy team.

Kickoff

Giants win the toss, elect to receive. See if the Cards D can build off last
week’s game in Seattle.

And, if you didn’t already know, the Cardinals are wearing their alternate
black
uniform today. It’s a good look for the team, though they haven’t exactly
been successful in them.

3:00 to kickoff

About three minutes to kickoff and the fans, well, are not exactly here.
Stadium is about 65 percent full, maybe. Late arrivals? Still tailgating?
Enthralled by Cincinnati/Buffalo?